Gene Smith set to sign 4-year extension with Ohio State

COLUMBUS — Ohio State's Gene Smith is set to sign a four-year extension that will keep him leading the nation's largest athletic department through 2020, pending approval by the board of trustees later this week.

Smith will be promoted to vice president while remaining athletic director, and receive a $100,000 bump in pay to push his annual salary to about $940,000 per year.

Smith, who came to OSU in 2005, has endured the scandal that cost former football coach Jim Tressel his job in 2011 but also shepherded steady growth. Under his watch, the football team has made six BCS appearances while the basketball team has made four straight trips to the Sweet 16.

“Gene Smith is one of this country’s most accomplished collegiate athletics directors, with an exemplary record of national leadership and service,” interim OSU President Joseph A. Alutto said in a statement today."Thanks to his dedication to student success, graduation success rates of Ohio State’s student-athletes have risen by 11 percentage points, to 89 percent. His vision and commitment to excellence have made Ohio State’s department of athletics one of the strongest in the nation.”

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